Arbent () is a commune in the department of

Ain Ain (, ; ) is a French department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, Eastern France. Named after the Ain river, it is bordered by the Saône and Rhône rivers. Ain is located on the country's eastern edge, on the Swiss border, where it ...

in the

Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes (; AURA) or ; or ; . is a Regions of France, region in southeast-central France created by the 2014 territorial reform of French regions; it resulted from the merger of Auvergne and Rhône-Alpes. The new region came into e ...

region of eastern

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. The commune has been awarded two flowers by the ''National Council of Towns and Villages in Bloom'' in the ''Competition of cities and villages in Bloom''.

Geography

The commune of Arbent is in the extreme north of the department of Ain at the northern edge of the Upper

Bugey The Bugey (, ; Arpitan: ''Bugê'') is a historical region in the department of Ain, eastern France, located between Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saôn ...

. It is in the

Jura mountains The Jura Mountains ( ) are a sub-alpine mountain range a short distance north of the Western Alps and mainly demarcate a long part of the French–Swiss border. While the Jura range proper (" folded Jura", ) is located in France and Switzerla ...

at the door of the Regional Natural Park of Upper Jura. Arbent is about 35 km north-east of

Bourg-en-Bresse Bourg-en-Bresse (; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Ain department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in Eastern France. Located northeast of Lyon, it is the capital of the ancient Provinces of France, province of Bresse (). I ...

and 2 km north of

Oyonnax Oyonnax () is the second most populated commune in the Ain department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in eastern France. Oyonnax lies in a valley of the Jura Mountains in the far north of Ain. It is near the Parc naturel régional du Hau ...

. It can be accessed from the south-west by Highway A404 which terminates in the commune. It is also accessed by road D31 from Oyonnax in the south which intersects the termination of the A404 and continues to

Dortan Dortan () is a commune in the Ain department in eastern France. Besides the village of Dortan itself, the commune includes the hamlets of Uffel, Vouais, Bonaz, Emondeau, Sénissiat and Maissiat. History This area was settled in the first cent ...

in the north-west. The D85 road also goes from Oyonnax to the village (which is a northern continuation of the Oyonnax conurbation) and continues west to Viry. The south-west of the commune is an extension of the conurbation of Oyonnax with the rest of the commune being heavily forested mountains.Google Maps
/ref> The ''Ruisseau de Merdanson'' rises in the south of the commune and joins with the ''Ruisseau de Col du Lary'' flowing north then west through the village then west and north to join the ''Bienne'' river.

Climate

The climate type is semi-continental, with cold winters, hot summers and precipitation falling mainly in summer.

Heraldry

Communications and transport

Transport

A bus runs regularly in the town. It comes from the neighbouring town of Oyonnax. A railway station previously existed in the town but the proximity of Oyonnax caused disinterest and it closed. Arbent is located on the Andelot-en-Montagne - La Cluse railway line.

Air transport

ARBENT et MARCHON - Vues du planeur alliance 34

The commune has an aerodrome shared with the commune of Oyonnax. It can accommodate helicopters and business aircraft but is mostly used by the Jean Coutty Aeroclub for leisure and pilot training. An air show is held every year.

Urban planning

Urban morphology

The commune of Arbent is divided into two areas. The first part is on the edge of the Jura department to the north. It is the location of the town hall. Two kilometres to the south is Marchon which is attached to the commune of Oyonnax.

Housing

The total number of dwellings in the town of 1182. INSEE data compiled by Linternaute
Lodgings in Arbent
Among these units, 96.4% are primary residences, 1.2% are second homes, and 2.5% are vacant housing. These lodging units are 60.1% of detached houses, 37.6% apartments, and only 2.3% are other types of housing. The proportion of people in their own home is 57.1%. This is higher than the national average which is 55.3%. As a result, the proportion of tenants is 39.5% of all housing which is inversely lower than the national average of 39.8%. It may also be noted that 3.4% of the population of the commune are people with free accommodation while at the level of the whole of France the average percentage is 4.9%. Of all the commune housing units: 1.3% are studio size, 9.7% are two bedroom accommodations, 19% have three bedrooms, 30.2% of homes have four bedrooms and 39.9% of homes have five or more bedrooms.

Administration

The municipal council of the commune is composed of 27 councillors. The executive consists of the mayor, Liliane Maissiat, and seven assistants, each with defined tasks. The First Assistant is responsible for financial and administrative affairs, employment, and economic forecasting. There is an assistant for education, for work related technical services. for communications, for public relations, for entertainment and cultural life, for urban planning, land use, environment and forest, for social affairs and housing, and finally for sports associations and life. Nineteen other councillors attend the municipal council. List of mayors of Arbent

Intercommunal relations

The commune has developed twinning in order to promote school exchanges, sporting, cultural, and social relations between Communes. * Plouhinec, Finistère (France) since 28 May 2005.

Population

Economy

Income and taxation

According to the INSEE survey in 1999, the average household income is EUR 22,015 per year, while the national average is 15,027 euros per year. There is no liability for the solidarity tax on wealth (ISF) in Nantua.

Employment

The population of Arbent is divided into 48.2% working, which is higher than the national average of 45.2%, and 10.5% retired, a figure lower than the 18.2% national average. There are also 30.5% of the population of young people in school and 10.8% of other people without work. The working rate for the population 20 to 59 years old is 85% with a rate of unemployment of 9% in 1999 - well below the national average of 12.9% unemployed.

Culture and heritage

Civil heritage

The commune has a number of buildings and structures that are registered as historical monuments or historical objects: *A Travellers Halt (1889) *A Railway Bridge and 2 Tunnels at Rue du Point B (1886) *A Railway Bridge in Montagre (1886) *A Railway Crossing (No. 84) at Prés de Voye (1886) *A Vaulted Aqueduct (1886) *A Railway cutting Retaining Wall at Prés de Voye (1886) *A Railway Bridge at Prés de Voye (1886) *A Mechanical Disc Signal at Marais Sud (20th century) *A Railway Telephone at Prés de Voye (20th century) ;Other sites of interest Other points of interest in Arbent include historical buildings, a sports complex, and walks in the surrounding woods.

Religious heritage

The Church of Saint Laurent (15th century) is registered as an historical monument. It contains a

Lectern A lectern is a standing reading desk with a slanted top, on which documents or books are placed as support for reading aloud, as in a scripture reading, lecture, or sermon. A lectern is usually attached to a stand or affixed to some other form of ...

(17th century) which is registered as an historical object.Ministry of Culture, Palissy

Gallery

File:Église_Saint_Laurent_-_Arbent_-_20040815.jpg, The Church of Saint-Laurent File:Illumination_église_Saint_Laurent_-_Arbent_-_20041127.jpg File:Lavoir à Arbent.JPG, Old

Lavoir A lavoir (, wash-house) is a public place set aside for the washing of clothes. Communal washing places were common in Europe until industrial washing was introduced, and this process in turn was replaced by domestic washing machines and by s ...

at Marchon File:Arbent 2014 (1).JPG, War Memorial File:Arbent 2014 (2).JPG, Statue on the War memorial *The Chapel Saint-Oyen

Facilities

Education

The Jean-Rostand College at Marchon is classified as a successful ambition.

Media

The newspaper ''

Le Progrès ''Le Progrès'' (, ) is a regional daily newspaper which is based in Lyon, Rhône, France. ''Le Progrès'' reports primarily on local news in the Rhône-Alpes region. The paper has its headquarters in Lyon. The print works is in Chassieu, near ...

'' publishes a local edition for the communes of Upper Bugey. It appears from Monday to Sunday and discusses various news, sporting, and cultural events at the local, national, and international levels. The newspaper ''La Voix de l'Ain'' is a weekly publication offering local information for different regions of the department of Ain.

France 3 France 3 () is a French free-to-air Public broadcasting, public television network. The second flagship network of France Télévisions, it broadcasts a wide range of general and specialized programming. France 3 is structured as a Region ...

Rhône Alpes Auvergne is available in the region.

Personalities

* Louis Aleman, French cardinal of the 15th century *General Andrea, military man and French writer of the 20th century, author of ''The Druze revolt and the insurrection in Damascus'', Payot, 1937